The sounds of an argument could be heard from a great distance.
Mozart immediately covered his ears as if he were suffering the worst auditory torture of his life.
"That noise... I hate it! A noise without precedent, the omen of an unprecedented demon! Oh, Muses! Please have mercy! My body won't stop trembling with fear."
---xXx---
"You! You, you, you! You insolent squirrel from the East!"
"Hehehe! Who are you calling insolent? Do you really think a failure like you can defeat a true Dragon like me, Elisabeth?"
"Ughhhhh! I'm so angry! I'll deal with Carmilla later, but you die first! You creepy stalker!!"
"I'm not a stalker. I'm 'a dedicated bodyguard who acts as a spy.' I, Kiyohime, am a woman who lives for love."
There was not even any need for introductions.
The two were already providing all the necessary information on their own.
Arthur observed the scene for a few moments and felt a slight headache coming on.
The two seemed completely incapable of maintaining a normal conversation for more than five seconds.
"Your love violates human rights!" Elisabeth roared.
Kiyohime opened her fan and gracefully fanned herself.
"I don't want to hear that from a pervert with a blood torture fetish. I imagine you were doing that... as if you were doing THAT. Weren't you?"
"What do you mean, 'doing that'? Don't talk nonsense!"
"...What? Elisabeth, I didn't know you were still..."
"Ahhhhhhh! Shut up, shut up, shut up! I'll... kill you!"
"You can't kill me because I'm going to kill you!"
Both took a deep breath.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Enough! Stop right there!" Mozart interrupted, visibly desperate. "I cannot allow this to go any further. What you're doing is sacrilege against all voice and sound!"
"Those two aren't saints, are they?" Ishtar asked, genuinely confused as she watched the argument.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ishtar! Religions would collapse if they were saints." Mozart replied without even taking his hands off his ears.
Beside Arthur, Artoria rubbed her forehead.
"I wasn't expecting to meet two Servants so... energetic." She said exasperatedly.
"Anyway, we need to stop them... Hey, you two!" Arthur clapped his hands to get the attention of the two who were still arguing.
"Huh? What?" Elisabeth replied.
"I'm busy right now. Come back later." Kiyohime responded at the same instant.
"Hmph. You won't be busy much longer. Until the next Holy Grail War, of course!"
"...Humph. Frilled lizard."
"Japanese rat snake!"
"Mexican bearded dragon."
"Sharp-nosed viper!"
"Ahhh... My ears are going to rot..." Mozart groaned. "You son of a... Oh no. I'm forbidden from saying that. I promised Marie."
Seeing that this clearly was not going anywhere, Arthur let out a sigh.
He had already understood that words would have very little effect on those two.
So he decided to resort to the simplest method available.
"By Command Spell, come forth, Tamamo-no-Mae!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a crimson magic circle opened beneath his feet.
A wave of magical energy swept through the area.
The scarlet glow rose into the heavens like a pillar of light, instantly interrupting the argument between Kiyohime and Elisabeth.
Even the two of them fell silent for a moment.
As the light gradually faded, a familiar figure emerged from the summoning circle.
Tamamo-no-Mae practically jumped out of it.
The next instant, she was already clinging to Arthur's arm.
"Oh my, Master. Were you in such a hurry to summon Tamamo?" Her smile was radiant.
Upon hearing that voice, Kiyohime slowly covered half of her face with her fan.
"Oh, isn't this Mrs. Tamamo?"
With Kiyohime's voice, Tamamo finally noticed there were other people present.
"Ah... so it's Kiyohime."
Realizing the two knew each other, Arthur shrugged.
"Anyway, Tamamo, deal with those two for me. Make sure they don't continue arguing in the city. Once you're done, take them back to our base."
He then pointed in the direction he intended to go.
"We're going to continue our search for that saint."
Upon hearing Arthur's words, Tamamo-no-Mae immediately looked dejected.
Her ears almost seemed to lose part of their enthusiasm.
"Eh... I thought Master had finally discovered my value..." She sighed dramatically. "I didn't expect you to only think of me when faced with such a difficult task..."
Arthur blinked.
"What are you talking about? Look, you know Kiyohime, and I trust you completely."
The answer was so direct that Tamamo fell silent for a few seconds.
Then her mood visibly improved.
The smile returned to the kitsune's face.
"Well..." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "After all, I am Master's fox wife, so leave this insignificant matter to me."
Hearing that, Ishtar let out an exasperated sigh.
"She really never misses an opportunity."
Artoria merely shook her head.
Meanwhile, Arthur was already walking away with the rest of the group.
Behind them, Elisabeth and Kiyohime were once again glaring at each other.
Tamamo looked at one, then the other.
Her smile remained intact.
But for some reason, both of them felt a chill run down their spines.
---xXx---
After that incident, Arthur and his companions encountered no further problems during the journey.
The road remained peaceful through the war-ravaged French countryside, with no new wyvern attacks or unexpected interference.
Because of this, they managed to reach the city where Saint George was located without major difficulties.
When they finally found him, the dragon-slaying saint was fighting a wyvern that had approached the region.
After Arthur explained the entire situation, Saint George readily agreed to help them remove the curse that still afflicted Siegfried.
With a simple use of his spatial manipulation, Arthur brought Siegfried to the location.
Marie, Mozart, Artoria, and Ishtar remained nearby throughout the entire process.
Although everyone trusted Saint George's abilities, no one ignored the possibility of something unexpected happening when such a powerful curse was involved.
As a precaution, the four stood guard.
Arthur, on the other hand, moved a short distance away from the group.
He sat on the roof of one of the nearby houses and watched the sky while the treatment continued.
A gentle breeze blew through the city.
Even so, something continued to bother him.
"Something's wrong... Gilles isn't going to try to save Jeanne?"
Arthur slowly narrowed his eyes.
This journey had two objectives from the beginning.
The first was to find Saint George.
The second was to force Gilles de Rais out of hiding.
Yet up until that moment, no suspicious activity had been detected.
He had warned Ritsuka that an attack could happen at any moment against his base, but so far, nothing had occurred.
That did not match the man who had created a distorted version of Jeanne simply to fulfill his desires.
"This is a little strange."
---xXx---
At that very moment, Gilles gathered the Servants who still remained under his influence.
Atalanta, consumed by the fury caused by Madness Enhancement, and Lancelot, whose very existence as a Berserker was already defined by madness.
As a Caster, Gilles possessed more than enough means to keep them under control, even without Jeanne's presence.
But his thoughts were moving in a completely different direction from what Arthur had imagined.
Gilles had no intention of launching a direct attack.
Nor did he intend to organize a rescue operation for Jeanne Alter.
Instead, he remained seated before an improvised altar while holding his copy of Prelati's Spellbook.
In silence, he prepared what he truly wished to summon.
The grimoire contained records of forbidden knowledge related to a malevolent entity from an era predating humanity itself.
Even if Gilles could not fully utilize the complete potential of that knowledge, it was still possible to achieve part of its effects.
As long as he possessed sufficient magical energy, and at that moment, he had exactly that.
Through his crystal ball, he carefully observed Chaldea's base, where Jeanne Alter was being held.
"Jeanne d'Arc... Jeanne d'Arc... Wait for me a little longer."
His fingers tightened around the grimoire.
"I will certainly rescue you."
---xXx---
When the curse afflicting Siegfried was finally removed, he stood before Arthur accompanied by Jeanne d'Arc and Saint George.
His expression remained as serious as ever.
But there was visibly less weight upon his shoulders.
"Thank you very much. If I am still alive after facing Fafnir, could I make a contract with you and become your Servant?"
Arthur smiled; the proposal did not surprise him.
He knew that Siegfried was a simple man in many respects.
When he decided something, he usually expressed it directly.
"Of course. No problem." His answer was equally straightforward.
With that brief conversation, the first stage of the mission had been completed.
Arthur then turned his attention to Marie and Mozart.
"Marie and Mozart, the next battle will be against the evil dragon, Fafnir. I believe your abilities will be more effective at our base."
Marie nodded immediately.
She understood perfectly that a direct confrontation with Fafnir would be very different from their previous battles.
"No problem, Knight."
Mozart also agreed without resistance.
For someone who preferred music to combat, the decision seemed quite reasonable.
"Yes, I was getting tired as well... and unfortunately I'll have to hear that shrill noise again..." The composer placed a hand on his forehead as he spoke.
"Are you still complaining about those two?" Ishtar sighed.
"I'm a musician. I have the right to complain." Mozart immediately replied.
"No, you complain far too much." Ishtar snorted.
"That's because you didn't suffer what I suffered." He shot back.
As the two began another argument, Arthur merely shook his head.
At least that conversation meant everyone was in good condition.
The next battle would be against the dragon that was terrorizing all of France.
(Fim do capítulo)